Students once regularly purchased breakfast foods and drinks at the Daily Grind, which raised money for charity.
Prior to this year’s schedule overhaul, students would go to the Humanities Rotunda every Friday during their 30-minute Conference block to purchase cheap delicacies amid an otherwise hectic day. Every week, the Student Council would work with another club or student organization to sell various foods and drinks, including lemonade, coffee, donuts, cake pops, muffins, and breakfast sandwiches. The money collected was sent to a charity at the end of each year.
Organized by the Vice President of the Student Council, the Daily Grind offered an alternative lunch option to students whose schedule precluded them from eating in the Dining Hall. This year, however, the Daily Grind may be changing in accordance with the changed schedule.
Mr. Oliver Morris, an adviser of the Student Council, explained, “The Daily Grind is undergoing a transition because of the loss of community lunch. It had become an event that had provided an alternate lunch for people during Conference Period on Friday when the Dining Hall wasn’t open because of community lunch. But since we don’t have community lunch anymore, that need has gone away.”
While the Student Council is still not entirely sure about their plans for the Daily Grind this year, they are hoping to maintain the charitable purpose of the Daily Grind. After discussing the Daily Grind’s transition during the Student Council meeting on Tuesday, September 26, School Vice-President, Julian Yau ’18, said, “Whatever happens, the council wants to continue having some kind of ongoing fundraiser. We’ve settled on setting up snack bars at sports events and plays, especially during big events like Deerfield Day, but we’re also thinking about adding another component to the Daily Grind to compensate for the whole community lunch conundrum, including turning the tradition into a fundraising designer brand.”
The Daily Grind has been a huge success since the Student Council started it in 2007, as a one-year event to raise funds for charity. Last year, the Student Council was able to donate nearly three thousand dollars to Call to Care Uganda, a nonprofit organization with a mission of helping vulnerable children in Uganda through health and education initiatives.
While the council has not yet decided on a charity to donate to this year, the council will be voting upon this after taking suggestions and coming up with more ideas. Yau, said, “We often reach out to the student body to see where they believe the money can do the most good. Sometimes if a student, or a group of students, feels particularly strongly about a cause, we may decide as a council to hand over the funds to support it.”
Yau added, “It’s cool to be part of the process of remaking a school tradition like this. Hopefully, by the end of the year, we’ll have something unique to be really proud of passing along.”
